CalPERS halts release of pension database

July 11, 2013

Two days after announcing its plan to unveil a public database containing pension information for all retirees in its system, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System chose to delay the creation of the database. [Sacramento Bee]

CalPERS said Wednesday that it halted the unveiling of the database due to a threat by a retiree group to pursue legislation that would limit the amount of information the retirement system could release under the California Public Records Act.

“In accordance with our desire to protect privacy and data of our members and only release that information which is legally required, CalPERS has decided to wait to see the outcome of this legislative effort and not release our planned pension database,” said CalPERS spokesman Brad Pacheco.

Currently, pension information considered public includes retirees’ names, monthly pension payment, base allowance, cost of living adjustment, final compensation, last employer and pension benefit formula.

CalPERS said it planned to unveil the pension database as a move to become more transparent.

Last month, the California legislature considered weakening the Public Records Act as a cost-cutting measure in the current fiscal year’s budget. But, the legislature reversed its course just prior to Governor Jerry Brown signing the budget.

16 Comments

Ok, I am tired of all of the people bitching about the public employees. What would you do with out the public employees. Who would take care of you all when you call in to complain about the pothole in the road,when the neighbors dog continues to bark in the middle of the day while you are trying to sleep, How about when you need to receive your social security check? Yup all of you that bitch and complain can not get through a day with out a public employee. If you are so upset with the benefits they get then go out and get a government job yourself and see how easy it really is. What I make is nobodies business but mine.

I invite anybody to come spend a day in my shoes and then tell me I am paid too much.

What would we do? I don’t know… how about exactly what people have been doing for thousands of years: take care of things themselves!

Fill our own potholes, tell our neighbor to handle their dog, and Lord help us, rely on our family for support in our “golden years” – just for a start.

The reason you seem to think we all have to rush to the government for everything is a result of DECADES of programming and over-bloating of bureaucracy. They need to always grow, and once grown, they need a reason to exist. Nothing nefarious, just the way of things. We actually used to live quite nicely alone and without a nanny state oversight. Heck, people actually formed their own nation 237 years ago and it did VERY well until the government, like a fire, grew too large to control and contain, and is now burning us down.

And the mind-bending power of the ‘priveleged’ is wielded once more! But, it is understandable why those who have obtained this stature in life would not want it to be public knowledge. One would like to believe it is out of shame of scamming the system, but most likely not. Just the basic of all human natures – I got mine, screw the rest of you.

Has anybody considered how this, along with so many other things, are somewhat comparable to the recent events in Egypt? When a system of government fails to address the concerns of ALL the people – the people eventually rebel against that system of government. Also similiar to how this nation was founded over 220 years ago – the English government refused to address the valid concens of the colonists – rebellion ensued and the USA was founded. At some point, the people will only take so much. No system can survive when that system exists on inequities.

Actually, many CalPers retirees already limit the amount of information related to their pensions. They simply retire to another State so that they don’t have to be accountable to those around them who know of their gift horse. We all know someone who want to leave California because of the politics yet gladly takes the pay and can’t wait to retire from their California Gov Job. They will live better elsewhere thank to “The Well”, they sucked dry, California Tax Payers.

There are many systems that do us well, the cardiovascular system, the respiratory system, the digestive system and with the life, these great systems house, we allow this? Agreed, there is a system out there that should be bashed. How about for exceeding the parameters for civil symbiosis?

I agree. Keep the names off, but the location / job / whatever can be listed. Non-identifying statistics.

Of course, they do not need to release a database, anyone who is not living under a rock knows how broken the PERS system is and how much it is gamed. That said, perhaps this will be the spark that lights the blazing column of truth that we, as a society, seriously need to re-examine how we handle public employees with regards to compensation. The thugs at SEIU will definitely not like this and work against it’s creation and/or release, I’m sure.

I do not think you quite understand finance and particularly financial obligations. Perhaps the fund does have 258.4 billion dollars “capitalized” – let’s see how much the forthcoming database says they need to pay out in just this year.

Then you can type in all caps and claim that disinformation (the request for info is disinfo?) is being “spread” by an anonymous comment on a small-town’s news website.